8.01.2015

Jumping the Gun

Who
writes a food blog post before they have even tasted the food, much less before
ever making it?

Me!
That's who.

I am on a
plane headed to the Pacific Northwest, going to a professional conference. I
packed all the mundane needs for such a trip: flash drive with my PowerPoint, notes
for my presentation, clothes, Dopp kit, and eyeglasses. At the last minute, I
added my unopened June issue of Food & Wine.

An aside:
My rule of thumb regarding the value of any single issue of a magazine is this:
if there is even one recipe that has me salivating, counting the hours till I
can make it, the issue is worth having. It's even better if that dish comes out
well, and is something I will make again and again.

After
opening my magazine on the plane, I knew immediately what I will be making for
my August 1st post... and it's only May 17!

My mind
is racing ahead to a hot July afternoon. The temperature will probably be
somewhere around 100°F. Maybe even 110°F. We will want a break from the relentless summer heat,
even though we don't mind it terribly.

I will
pack a picnic. We'll invite some friends to join us. We may drive up 8000 feet
to the forested mountain north of Tucson, or south to the cool upland prairie.
I can envision a crisp, chilled rosé. And I will make these sandwiches. Pan bagnat, a
Provençal
specialty.

I will
make changes in the magazine’s version of the recipe to suit our tastes. I will wrap them
in parchment and tie them with twine. And, by the time we arrive at our cooler
destination, under the shade of a coniferous mountain forest or Arizona live-oak
tree among shimmering prairies, the ingredients will have spent the perfect
amount of time marinating.

The
flavors will come together and become one, yet each bite will have something
special that will shine through. A burst of capers, fennel, tuna, or anchovy.
But all as one.

Barbara, Mark, and Dianne - my perfect picnic companions!

This is
the perfect meal for a rosé, and I invite you to see which one I paired with this sandwich on this week's issue of the Provence WineZine.

Even
though I have not yet made this, I know it will be perfect. Perfect like a
summer’s
day...

On July 25th, two months and a week after writing the post above, I made the pan bagnat and they were everything I had hoped for. Mark, Barbara, Dianne, and I went up Mount Lemmon, and picnicked in the cool mountain air under a canopy of tall pine trees. We had one special visitor while eating; he was sad that we refused to share. But he was brazen enough to check the box from Café Français, where I got the cookies and bread.

Keep
cool, my friends!

~ David

Pan
Bagnat

Inspired
by Food & Wine, June 2015

Recipe
below finally created 25 July 2015

2
teaspoons fennel seeds

1 egg

1
tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, divided

2
teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice, divided

3
tablespoons fennel fronds

1 1/2
teaspoons Dijon mustard

1/2
teaspoon salt

1/2
teaspoon black pepper

5
tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 cup
light oil - olive or canola

1/4 cup
crème
fraîche

1
tablespoon Pastis

1 red
bell pepper, roasted, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup
pitted and chopped Niçoise olives

2
tablespoons capers

1
teaspoon Piment d'Esplette (or red pepper flakes)

2 6-ounce
jars tuna packed in oil, drained

1
baguette, halved lengthwise

2 cups
arugula

1 medium
fennel bulb, shaved paper thin

2
heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced

2 Kirby
(pickling) cucumbers, thinly sliced

12 white
anchovy fillets

Start by
making the mayonnaise. Lightly toast the fennel seeds in a dry skillet over medium-low
eat until golden. Let cool, then grind in a spice grinder.

Place
egg, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, fennel fronds, mustard,
salt, pepper, ground fennel, and 3 tablespoons olive oil in the bowl of a food
processor fitted with the steel blade. Purée for 10-15 seconds, or until fennel fronds are finely
chopped. Then, in a VERY slow and steady stream, with processor running, add
the light oil. By the time it is gone, the mixture should be a perfect
mayonnaise.

Place 3/4
cup of the mayonnaise (reserve the rest for another use, like steamed
artichokes), the crème fraîche, and Pastis in a medium bowl. Mix well and taste for
seasoning; add salt and pepper if needed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make
the sandwiches, generously spread both cut sides of the baguette with the fennel
mayonnaise. Arrange the arugula on the bottom half of the baguette. Top with
sliced fennel, then the tuna mixture. Top with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and white anchovies. Place the other half of the bread on top, then slice into four
sandwiches. Wrap each individually in parchment and tie with twine.

Keep on
ice in a cooler for a couple of hours while you travel to your picnic site.
Unwrap, and grab a taste of summer heaven. Don't forget to bring plenty of napkins - this is a messy sandwich!Serves 4.

David - What a fabulous post! I love all the elements (yummy food, fabulous Rosé wine, good friends, beautiful scenery) but especially how it all came together. Your unexpected guest is quite cute, too. Thank you for sharing!

Oh I love the story you told in the post! And it's so true about valuing magazines based on the recipes published in them. I do it too. I have storage boxes filled with old magazines, and I know exactly what recipe I like to use is in each issue! Enjoyed this post!

Anything that inspires you to drop the mag, run off to start something new is well worth a pretty penny.This is one hell of a tuna sandwhich. So hearty and full of flavour. I can't wait to taste it. You set a very elegant picnic table, David. Fine dining under the pines. Lovely. xo

That's one serious sandwich, and loaded with some of my favourite things! Especially anchovies. Mount Lemon looks like such a beautiful area to visit. I think I need to add that to my list of places to see when we head through your area on our next big trip!

Sounds like you had an absolutely perfect picnic! And the food looks fabulous, a far cry from the tuna sandwiches (canned tuna with egg and mayo) I grew up eating. My girls have never had a tuna sandwich because I am not keen on shelf stable meat products, but you certainly have done an excellent job in promoting jarred tuna. I just may have to give this a try. Nicely done!

I like taking my food magazines on business trips and rip out the pages with recipes I want to try and recycle the rest of the magazine. I'm impressed that you actually made one of those recipes - mine tend to just sit on a top shelf of a kitchen cabinet.

I am finally responding to this gorgeous post. It read like a real page turner! (I wonder what the equivalent phrase will be for digital media.) it looks delicious and the wine you had with it sounds wonderful!

Haha... I've done the 'write before you make' thing also, leaving the publishing until I've tested the recipe properly. It's an efficient way to work, methinks, as you write your recipe notes directly into the blog format! Glad that your pan bagnat worked out just as you'd hoped. It looks delicious! And your dining companions look quite dapper in their hats ;)